Performance based interactive analysis

This paper re-approaches structural engineering through an interactive perspective by introducing a series of tools that combine parametric design with structural analysis, thus achieving a synergy between the architectural shape and its structural performance. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates how the design can be realised into an efficient structural form by applying novel techniques of form-finding through the exploitation of the generated analytical output. The combination of these tools and their parametric control contributes to a new design approach that outrides the generation of single solutions and enables a deeper exploration of the design parameters leading to multiple performance- based outcomes. This paper describes the integration between a Parametric Design software, McNeal’s Grasshopper 3D and a Finite Element Analysis software, Autodesk’s Robot Structural Analysis. The generated synergy between form and structure is demonstrated through a series of case studies through which the interactive control of the parameters the enables the designer to iterate between a range of form-found solutions.